Engagement to Commitment

December 7, 2005 – On December 7th the TWIST team organised a meeting about the possible accelerated adoption of open standards for supply chain and corporate treasury automation. See the minutes. Download the Presentation.

The intention of the meeting was to see whether adoption rates of open standards can be accelerated through agreed collective action by those entities that have most to gain in terms of improved efficiency and a reduction of working capital. Where most of the corporates present at the meeting felt that they were ready to move, they initially were also not sure whether their banks would be able to support them. Conversely, the banks in the room indicated they were ready to move and often had made the necessary investments in their infrastructure but had not been asked for implementation by their corporate customers.

It was observed that there was a significant business case for implementation based on improved efficiency of business processes, commensurate cost savings and profitability, the reduction of operational risks and increased choice of service providers.

The following action points were agreed:

1. The TWIST team to organise a follow-up meeting on February 21st, 2006, where corporates, banks and enabling service providers could agree actions for short term implementation of open standards;

2. All to canvas colleagues internally and peers from other firms, and refer to Tom Buschman by January 14th with statements on what adoption commitments can be made: What, When and with Whom;

3. Banks and service providers to talk to other customers who were not in the room to ascertain willingness to participate in pilots and identify any bottlenecks for implementation if any;

4. All to engage with senior management (CEO / COO / CIO / CFO / Treasurer), highlighting a reality check, and inviting them to attend or ask a representative of them to attend the follow-up meeting on February 21st.

Below are edited clips representing the key messages from presentations made by Tom Buschman (TWIST), John Sculley (Identrus), Bob Fuller (Dresdner Bank/MiFID) and Eric Sepkes (Citigroup) about the value of open standards and the value of collaboration between corporates, their banks and other enabling service providers.

1) Tom Buschman, TWIST, Chairman & CEOTom Buschman introduced the session by highlighting the role of standards in the current market environment, where regulatory drivers like Sarbannes-Oxley (SOX), the Single European Payment Area (SEPA) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) are causing major changes and investments. He summarized TWIST’s role as standardizing business processes between the physical and finanical supply chains. Download Video

2) John Sculley, Identrus, Chairman [former CEO Pepsi (78-83), CEO Apple (83-93)], John Sculley compared the current changes the marketplace is undergoing to his experiences at Pepsi and Apple. As the CEO of one of the leaders in the microcomputer revolution, his insights on the role of standards in his successes at Pepsi, in its battles with Coke, and the difficulties experienced at Apple, facing the Dell challenge, are illuminating. John summarizes that identity is the key enabler to standardization being able to address the massive changes brought about by SOX, SEPA, and MiFID. Download Video

3) Bob Fuller, Dresdner Bank, Chairman of MiFID Technical Committee Bob Fuller detailed the major changes that MiFID will bring about in the Financial Services sector. His stark predictions on these changes, and the adverse consequences for those that ignore them, are quite powerful. Download Video

4) Eric Sepkes, Citibank Director of Cash Management Strategy EMEA Eric Sepkes highlighted the banks’ role in addressing the massive inefficiencies in the supply chain, and the resulting benefits. He outlines how only through collaboration in the standardization process, in co-operation with the corporate community, can these efficiencies be realized. Download Video